Todd O'Neal

Black Gold Farms –
Delhi,
LA

To Todd O'Neal, sweet potatoes are perfect.

"The sweet potato is a perfect vegetable. You can get all the nutrients you need from it, and there's no bad way to eat it. French fried, baked, in a pie, as a biscuit, as an ice cream...I could eat one raw!" Todd O'Neal was born to love sweet potatoes – he's a third-generation sweet potato farmer. He grew up alongside the fields, left for college, and returned after graduation.

Sweet potatoes are a labor-intensive crop, but Todd loves the work. "Our farm doesn't slow down until after Christmas," he says. "We start in January and go straight through to Thanksgiving – in fact, it's one of our busiest times!" They also work to protect the fertile land of the Southern Mississippi River Basin. "We are really mindful to keep the land healthy for the next generation – we only use what we need!"

"The sweet potato is a perfect vegetable."

Todd wants his own two kids to grow up to be farmers too. "It's not about the money – you have a good quality of life with your family. It's farming, what's not to love?"